Old is gold.

Originally Posted by Chitvish

Athirasam:

Thin variety of rice is not recommended for athirasam. Use rice with big grains. In Chennai we get

Mavu Arisi which is suitable for athirasam.

Raw rice - 2 cups

Urundai vellam (round jaggery, also called pagu vellam) - 2 heaped cups ( jaggery suitable for syrups )

Cardamom powder - 2 tsp

Oil - to deep fry

Wash & soak 2 level cups raw rice for 1 hr.Drain very well & spread on cloth between sheets of

newspaper for 1/2 hr.Powder it in the mixi as fine as possible (in India, send it to the flour mill ).It is

not necessary to sieve this. Now add 1/2 cup water to 2 heaped cups of jaggery, keep on a slow

fire & keep stirring till it dissolves.Strain to remove the dirt. Again boil the syrup till the correct

consistency is reached- take out 1 tsp syrup & put it in 2 tbsp water.You should be able to gather

it like soft butter(this may sound tricky, but when you do it , you will see it yourself easily).Now

remove. In the meanwhile keep the flour in a slightly broad vessel ready & an electric hand

blender or electric dough kneader (if you do not have either, a wooden spatula) ready. Go on

adding the syrup gradually with one hand& hand blend (or knead )with the other hand (or mix

with the spatula) thoroughly without leaving out any dry lump in any corner.The consistency is,

formation of bubbles in the dough-slightly softer than chappathi dough &thicker than idli

dough.Do not add any more syrup even if some is left.The proportion varies with the quality of

rice, so it is safer to have a little extra syrup.Now blend the mixture thorughly after adding cardm

pdr. Spread 2 tsp ghee on top & rest it at least for a day.( For all the effort we take, I usually make

with 4 cups mix with, put in 3-4 ziplock covers & freeze. The more it matures, the better it turns

out !) Next day make athirasam.Usually the consistency on kneading again thoroughly will be O

K. It is supposed to get losened with the warmth of the palm while kneading. If too tight, add 2-3

tsp curds.Take a (slightly big) lemon size, pat it into a small circle with your palm, not fingers(only

then the pressure is even) on a plastic sheet, drop only one at a time in hot oil, change to med

flame.Splash oil on it from around & it will bloat. When one side becomes honey coloured, slowly

turn over. Don't keep this side for long , few seconds is sufficient- otherwise it will become hard.

Now lift it with a holed laddle, gently press on it with another ladle(do this very gently-if not, it

will become tough) & transfer to a tissue. Don't keep the hot athirasams one over the other.Spread

horizontally on a tray. Cool completely & store.

Do not overcook it –it will become tough. If you try to savour it when hot, you may think there is

raw dough inside. Actually it will get cooked in the heat.( ulle, irundhu veganum)

If you all think I am going overboard with details, let me know!

This recipe of yours , must say is just fantastic.....tried it last week and is absolutely great...thanks.....

Originally Posted by Chitvish

Dear Manju,
It is my earnest desire that every one of you should realise what a great treasure our SI cooking is, when it comes to varieties! Comparable to any international cuisine!!
Love,
Chithra.

Chitra,
True may I add vegetarian SI cooking, comparable to any international cuisine!! ...some of my local American friends are rather astounded when I mention that we are vegatarians!...I guess they feel given the limted varieties of salads that they are used to for the vegtable portions of their meal it would indeed stump them into thinking along those lines!!...very limted and tasteless:)

Originally Posted by Vidya24

Hi friends,

T
Varloo, your message is interesting. I have tried some of the recipes put out by Chitvish and results have been good. After reading your posting,

In raising the issue of tradition (traditional ingredients & methods), there is an inherent danger. We are a group of different cultures and culinary methods. Whose tradition should be followed? Let us take avial itself. Apparently, avial originated in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple when the royal cook first made it with vegetable peels and oil left from fying pappadam. Like avial, I am also from Trivandrum, and like my avail with an extra generous helping of coconut. My husband's family from Thirunelveli, add very little coconut, but add chepankizhangu, which in my Keralite mind is taboo for avial. Both of us like only our 'own' traditional form of avial. Even within Kerala, Christians add a dash of garlic to avial while Nairs top it off with crushed fried pappadams. In Tiruvayyar, Asoka Halwa is offered as naivedyam with a generous sprinkling of fresh panneer roja petals, while I add cardamom or rose essence. In Kerala, the Christians who make the softest appams, swear by adding toddy to the batter, while we add yeast. To each her own tradition.

Which one do we follow in Indusladies where there are members from every cross section? Which is 'the' traditional recipe?If we resolve this issue by taking the standard vegetarian recipes as norm, then there are already the cookery books by the matriarch Smt Meenakshi Ammal. Personally, I feel that if someone puts the Meenakshi Ammal version again in a recipe, it would be merely re-inventing the wheel. We deserve something more in keeping with our times and needs. And the Chitvish recipes cater to that.

We are a generation of women blessed with gadgets like mixies and pressure cookers. We have the luxury to move away from traditional methods like stirring theratipaal and halwa for hours. We have the resources/awareness to substitute one ingredient that is harmful ( coconut) with another (carrot)that is more healthful. Earlier we were more concered about taste, now we are equally concerned about taste and health. We are not willing to compromise on either, we need both. Period.

So, recipes have to evolve with times. And here I say' evolve' and not 'mutate'. Because when a traditional recipe evolves as in the Chitvish versions, it becomes more healthful and more grounded, while tasting the same. I had stopped making avial becos of the coconut-cholestrol angle. Now I make it often with the modified recipe and hope to continue doing so. I am having my avial, staying healthy and passing on the taste forward. To me the modified recipes are a win-win combination.

Cheers!
Vidya

Great mail-and both you and Varloo make enormous sense to me
One it is Chitvish's recipes-and so there is a large allowance to what she wants to say or do
Varloo on the other hand is saying-keep the recipe traditional and if I were to make Chitvishs writings a heirloom to pass on to many generations to come( I am doing it by collecting them all for my daughters) then Varloo's mail makes a lot of sense to me.
Your own mail became highly interesting because of all the variations you spoke about and I became richer by reading it-so here is my take
Something like Avial demands a whole page for itself )
So Chitvish's recipe first and then its variations
Who knows someone might like cheppa kizhngu in their Avial.
And fortunately not many other dishes will come into this Hall of fame!!
Shash

Originally Posted by Chitvish

Dear Swati,
If you are from South India - this explanation will be understandable for you. Raw rice is " pacharisi" ( not cooked) which we cook into rice or saadam.
Boiled rice ( that is also not cooked) is in tamil " puzungal arisi" which is generally used for tiffins like idli. It is also called parboiled rice.
Rice with the brown cover ( nellu in tamil) is cooked whole & then the rice is separated as white grains. This is called boied rice or parboiled rice.
I will be happy if somebody can explain it still better !
Love,
Chithra.

Swathi
Just trying ok
Before the rice leaves the farmers hand,rice is "treated ".
The rice that is de-husked and sent straight to the market-is usually whiter,smaller.and called "raw"
The parboiled is more yellow-usually small and stout and is not run through the whole course that boiled rice goes through-so par boiled.It is usually never eaten as "cooked rice"-and as Chitvish says is used for idlis.
The other kind is called Boiled rice-rice that is boiled in its skin-White to slightly yellow or brown it is usually large ,fat grains.
It cooks large
Another variant of this rice is red in color is def a Kerala favourite-large grains-very good for health and is usually soft when cooked well
So look at the grain of rice-small white and you will get a soft white cooked rice.
Long grains are variants that were not used in Souh India before-today it is a favorite and is used for veg rices.
Gowri

Madam,

Can you give the recepie for making urad dal laddoos (uzhundu laddu) when a girl attains puberty?

Thanks in advance

kala

Dear Kala,
We give uluthamkali when a girl attains puberty - that recipe is already given.
I have urad dhal laddu recipe, but never tried it.
Roast 1 cup urad dhal, dry, till golden & powder in the mixie.
Powdered sugar, you need is 1 cup.
Now, mix both & run again in the mixie to blend well.
Take in a vessel the above & add 2 tbsp dry coconut.
Heat 1 cup jaggery wqith little water to a sticky syrup. Strain & add to the above. Make balls using ghee.
Love,
Chithra.

Originally Posted by Chitvish

Tamarind - size of a medium orange

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Red chillies - 10-12 ( or to taste)

Hing - 1 heaped tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tbsp

Whole black channa (small size) - ¼ cup – can substitute gram dhal

Mustard seeds - 2 tsp

Groundnuts - 2 tbsp ( optional)

Salt, haldi

Gingelly oil - 4 tbsp

To tamarind add 1 cup of warm water, take a thick extract & strain.

Soak dhals for 1 hr & drain completely.

Cut chillies into small pieces.

Lightly dry roast methi seeds & powder with hing.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy vessel, temper mustard seeds & red chillies first.

Then add dhals & fry till they become dry, add haldi, salt & tamarind extract.

Boil the mixture on a medium flame.

When the “ sauce consistency “ is reached, add methi-hing powder, mix & remove.

Heat the remaining oil, add groundnuts & add to the above.

If you add 4 tbsp oil in the beginning, the mixture will splash all over, when boiling.

So I always add half the oil, after removing from the flame.

When mixing with rice, add fresh curry leaves (raw) for a good flavour & some extra raw oil.

A little extra salt, if required may be added.

I usually crush the red chillies with hand when mixing with rice & throw away so that there may not be many red chillies to pick out, while serving – ofcourse, this, again is personal preference.

This amount is sufficient for ½ kg rice.

This can be used for sevai, rice sticks, aval etc.

Dear Chithra,
How do you mix pulikaichal with aval?
Love

Dear Manju,
Normally, I don't. I have posted puli aval differently.
Love,
Chithra.